InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Fire Bearer ❯ Chapter 13

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"Take us."

Kagome and the others followed Sesshomaru at break-neck speed. They had left Shippo and Rin behind with Jaken and Aun, much against their liking. But they couldn't have any of them in the way or getting hurt. So they had said there goodbyes and left. Kagome never mentioned about the look on Sesshomaru and Rin's faces when he explained she had to stay.

She could feel the power coming strongly in waves. It was coming from a very remote area of Japan, one that normally didn't have many demon infestations. However this time it was different. It felt as though ever demon in the country had congregated there.

Finally, the demons started to appear, slowly but surely. They would jump out from the darkness of the forest, from behind bushes or out of trees but they were quickly taken care of. More and more kept appearing, sometimes in groups, but more frequently alone as the scenery around them whisked by, their feet hitting the ground hard yet gentle enough to not make a sound, the leaves on the forest floor lifting behind them.

Kagome could feel the energy growing stronger with every step, and slowly the smell of miasma filled her nose. Her muscles stiffened as she kept running along, her hands clenching tightly under the sleeves of her shirt, her nails digging into her palm, drawing her blood. Her eyes widened and she slowed down a bit and looked down. Her finger nails had become longer and sharper.

"Kagome come on!" InuYasha yelled as he ran in front of her, not stopping for her and slashing at another demon.

She looked down at her hands again and felt a surge of energy run through her. She felt her body pulse once, heat in her veins and started to run, unaware that red was seeping into her eyes.

She caught up with InuYasha and Sesshomaru in no time, Sango and Miroku flying a bit behind them on Kirara. InuYasha and Sesshomaru's heads turned towards her as she ran ahead, her body tilted forward a bit and face stiff. InuYasha noticed the red ringing her eyes but didn't have anytime to say anything about it as he saw her smirk.

She pulled ahead of them and slammed one foot to the ground, pushing off of it into the air with a smirk on her face. A group of demons appeared out of the trees above them and she whirled around, slashing across them and dropping to the ground as their bodies fell in pieces. The others stopped for a second, their eyes wide at what they saw, but Kagome took no notice and simply continued on her way, flexing her fingers and newly added claws.

InuYasha turned and looked at Sesshomaru, his eyes wide, but Sesshomaru didn't return his look. Only a flicker of curiosity as he took off again, InuYasha slowly following behind him.

Kagome's smirk never left her face, as she continued to slash her way along, leaving bits of bodies in her wake. Her breathing became heavier, her limbs began to shake, and her mind became so fuzzy that she almost didn't see the end of the forest, and ran straight over its edge.

Her eyes widened as she stopped, the near fall sending a shock through her, as she dug her heels into the ground, her claws dragging along. She stayed there for a moment, blinking before standing up. As she looked around, she was amazed. Everything was so sharp, the sounds of the demons, the feel of the evil energy, and the hideous scene before her.

A huge canyon lay in the middle of the forest, trees hanging off the edges at all points as though this section of the forest had simply gone missing, leaving a huge gaping hole in its place. Inside the gorge, thousands of demons ran from place to place in clusters, some fighting against each other. Naraku stood on the other side of the gorge, straight across from her a smirk playing his lips as his arm snaked around Kikyo's waist.

Kagome snarled, the red ringing her eyes growing as her knuckles cracked, flexing her fingers and claws. The demons below turned there heads up almost simultaneously, hearing the crack of her knuckles over the crowd and started roaring in bottled up energy, ready to sink their fangs and claws into her flesh. Well, try, anyway.

"Ah, so you've made it," Naraku said over the crowd of demons. They looked up at him and he waved his hands, silencing them.

"Did you have any doubt?" she asked, smirking lightly. "I see that you have others doing your dirty work for you even in the end Naraku."

His lip twitched as he tried not to snarl, but finally suppressed it to look at her. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it as the others appeared behind her. They stayed behind her though, not sure what to do as she looked back at them, seeing the red tinge had grown. They didn't know what she was planning, or if they were even a part of it, so for the moment they decided to do nothing.

"I'm glad you brought your entourage."

"Shut the hell up Naraku!" InuYasha yelled, having already broken the whole, 'Lets stay back and watch' thing.

"Ah, but it's so much more fun to mess with you," he said, smiling as he took a step back and then behind Kikyo. InuYasha's eyes widened as Naraku smirked.

"Kikyo!" he screamed, but it was too late as Naraku put his hand to her back, shoving her over the edge. "KIKYO!" InuYasha ran forward, to the edge of the cliff, ready to jump and save her but Kagome lunged to the side, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to keep him from going over the edge.

Kikyo screamed all the way to the bottom, where she hit hard. You couldn't hear the sound of the collision from the demons roaring as they fought there way to the remaining flesh, hungry for the blood. Kagome grimaced at the sight, turning her head from it and closing her eyes as InuYasha stared, eyes wide at the picture before him.

"You see!" came Naraku's voice over the demons, laughing under his breath. "Everyones expendable!"

"FUCK YOU!" InuYasha screamed as he fought against Kagome's hold around him, clawing at the air in front of him as though it were Naraku.

Kagome squeezed her eyes tighter shut and turned her head a bit further as everyone stood behind them, not sure what to do. Naraku was even more twisted then they thought he was, and now they were supposed to fight him? What were they doing? A thousand thoughts ran through their minds as they watched at the mass of demons, throwing themselves at others and wounding each other over the warm flesh.

"InuYasha, calm down," Kagome said quietly into his ear, but he didn't listen as he continued to fight at her, clawing at air and trying to free her grip, but she held him too strong. She knew what Kikyo had done to him, all of them. They all knew, but they also knew that there was no way this could be easy on him.

"NO!" he screamed, but his movements started to slow, his tense muscles relaxing a bit. "No..." he said quietly, almost at a whisper as he let his arms drop back down.

Kagome kept hold on him, her eyes closed. But they opened as she felt herself pulse. It was small, and sudden, but definitely noticeable. She looked down at InuYasha, but he was just as he had been, not having taken any notice to it. She shifted her eyes a bit, wondering what it could have been. She slowly unwrapped her arms from around him, but have way, she pulsed again. She froze as she looked around, she saw Naraku in the distance, chuckle and say something, but her ears didn't catch it. They actually didn't catch anything, she realized. Her head spun from side to side as she stepped back from InuYasha quickly, as though he were infected with something.

"Kagome... are you alright?" Sango asked, but her words fell deaf. Kagome continued to step back, and looked at Naraku, thinking he had something to do with it. But her suspicions were proven wrong as he looked at her, raising an eyebrow at her as though as confused as she was. He opened his mouth and said something again, but again she did not hear it. Then she saw the edges of her vision tingeing red.

She took another step back and InuYasha looked at her. His mouth moved as he said something, but she pulsed again and her vision filled with more red. She felt her muscles tense in her body, making her stiffen, harder to move. They all looked at her like she was insane, filled with concern and Naraku smirked. He thought that he had her, she couldn't move, and victory would be his.
Her muscles continued to tense, cramping up and making her body twitch. Naraku raised his hands, yelling something to the demons below. They started howling, banging against each other as they took off to their edge of the gorge, climbing up the walls. The others had to turn their eyes from her, but moved in close to her, not wanting to leave her open as the demons made their way towards her. Her eyes closed as she trembled, her jaw clenching together and grinding her teeth.

The demons drew closer, and she tried to move, but found her body unable to move at all from her will. Her energy began to build up, wanting to move, her muscles only starting to hurt as she tried. She managed to open her mouth. "Get... away..." she said her voice quiet and gruff.

"What?" InuYasha asked as he turned to her, his eyes wide. "Did... did you say something?" The others turned to look at her, still in fighting stance with their bodies towards the oncoming group of demons.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed, using everything she could. Her eyes opened wide in a flash, showing the bright red of them, the entire world clouded by the red in them. She growled, her body crumbling to her knees as her breathing quickened, her heart beating faster then it ever had. She tried to make her body calm down, but it wouldn't listen. The others were so taken back by this that they lost their stances, falling back a bit from the waves of power coming from her. Her hands lifted, her knuckles popping as they twitched in front of her face. She clenched them back together and looked forward. The demons finally reached the edge of the cliff, and jumped straight over it, 10 feet in the air. But Kagome was right there to meet them.

Her body finally let go, loosening the muscles as fire erupted around her hands and feet, but it was more then just fire. The pink of miko power surrounded her aura, covering her in it. InuYasha, Sesshomaru, and Kirara had to step back, feeling the burning of the purification power singing against them. Her body shot straight into the air, sending waves of fire and miko power, slashing wildly at any demon that got in her way, noise coming back to her in a sudden clash, the noise almost deafening.

Naraku's eyes widened. She had just taken out his entire first line of demons in a single swipe. He snarled as he felt her energy drift to him, and saw the scene before him. She looked insane, her eyes wide and red. After a minute, he realized what was happening. She was turning into her full demon form, whatever that was, and it had unleashed her miko powers with it. He smiled, this could be fun. Now he would have a real challenge to fight.

"I see your becoming your demon!" he called over the roar of the demons. "Perhaps you would like to see my new one!"

Kagome's eyes shifted over to him, standing at the edge of the cliff, her stance erratic. Her arms were out by her sides, held out a bit with her fingers spread apart. She took deep breaths through her teeth, snarling at him as her feet and heels dug into the dirt. He smirked as his body erupted in miasma, swirling and twisting in the spot he had been. It overflowed into the gorge, killing some of the demons below fast, some of the others taking longer to drop as most scrambled to find a way out of the hole. The miasma continued to twist in a dangerous vortex, growing higher and higher until it was a good 200 feet in the air. Kagome started to shake again, itching to see what he was doing and wanting to fight him as the fire started to grow up her arms and legs, her body bending forward lightly. The miasma finally faded to show what was hidden inside of it. Kagome's eyes widened as she saw a giant creature, black and purple, miasma spilling from its mouth and a spider scar on its back. Before Kagome stood a giant dragon.

"Like it?" came Naraku's booming voice, ragged from his drastic change. "It's my new form, took a while to get, but I think it was worth it. Now, change for me Kagome. Lets begin!"

Kagome pulsed again as her mind reeled. Her vision went blurry as she turned to look over her should at the others. They were staring at her in shock and confusion. But she also saw something else in their eyes. Fear.

She turned forward again and closed her eyes. She didn't want to be feared, especially by them. But she looked down at herself, and she couldn't blame them. She cried out and looked forward again, her mouth open, showing growing fangs in them. This was it, she realized. She had her dragon to slay and as she looked forward, over the cliff, she noticed just how high up it was. This was her tower.

She cried out again and started for the edge, leaving behind the screams of the others as she made it to the edge. Fire and the pink swirls of miko power grew around her, and she spread her arms... and jumped.